“We are very close to a vaccine.” President Donald Trump, Feb. 25, 2020
“All of the warning lights are flashing bright red. We are staring down a potential pandemic, and the administration has no plan,” U.S Sen. Chuck Schumer, Feb. 25, 2020
As of January 22, we are the fifth-worst state regarding shots given, having received 1,162,275 doses but given out only 453,862 -- a meager 39%. Of course, that is better than where we were a week ago when we were at 18.5%.
Lack of vaccines and shots in many Georgia counties is causing a lot of discontent. For example, up until recently in Department of Public Health Region 4 south of Atlanta where I live, the public called into the advertised number to schedule a shot -- but then couldn’t get through to leave a message or talk to someone. Now, at least the website says don’t bother to call until we get vaccine. And there’s still no online access.
However, the public has the wrong idea. They incorrectly believe our local Department of Public Health people are lazy or incompetent. They are neither. They are overworked, underpaid and have no state level leadership.
I feel for the very fine DPH people who work at the regional or county level. I know from personal experience that they are not given detailed information so they can adequately respond to basic questions regarding supply, distribution and delivery of vaccines and shots. But I’m just not sure what we can do about it short-term, at least until the next state election.
We have known about the novel Coronavirus for a year. For almost that entire time, we have also understood that the only long-term solution was developing an effective vaccine and providing it to the American public via shots. Trump knew this, although he continually misled the American public as to when a vaccine would be available. However, at the same time he stated “That’s (COVID) a problem that’s going to go away.” Simultaneously, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was correctly declaring that the Trump Administration had no plan to conquer the virus.
Congress and Trump did allocate adequate funding for vaccine development. Eventually, we did get private firms producing vaccines, although not anywhere close to February, as Trump misleadingly stated. The first vaccine was approved by the FDA in December for emergency use.
With almost a year to work on a distribution and implementation plan, one would think that shots would be readily available for high-risk groups. But they are not. Why?
First, there are private-sector production issues beyond the scope of our federal government. That’s understandable, if unfortunate.
What’s not understandable is the totally decentralized approach that the Trump Administration took towards implementation of a shot regimen. Why weren’t the states and the federal government working on a distribution scheme all along? Why wasn’t the Trump Administration (and the GOP) advocating for adequate state and local funding for public health departments so that their efforts would not be hampered by lack of money and staff? Their failure of leadership is obvious.
I do not support many of the policies of Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel. But at least he is competent and cares about Israelis. As of December 31, over 9% of Israelis had been vaccinated versus 0.8% here. You read that correctly; the Israelis had vaccinated more than 10 times the number of their citizens per capita.
Having been involved in public health at the state and local levels, I’m very sympathetic to their problems. However, for almost a year the state of Georgia knew that the vaccines were coming. If Gov. Brian Kemp needed additional staff and resources to administer shots -- and I know Georgia does -- why didn’t he and our legislature act to secure them long ago? And why haven’t they acknowledged the fact that they underfunded the effort, and pushed for immediate emergency funding right now?
Further, given the incompetence on the federal level, why haven’t Georgia and other states developed a smooth process of their own for getting the vaccine out to counties? Why haven’t there been time-framed action plans on both the state and local levels as to how to administer the shots when they are received, including proactively reaching high-risk individuals? Why has there been such inadequate communication about the process to average Georgians?
The Biden Administration has quickly laid out a comprehensive plan for vaccinations. However, the legacy of incompetence by the Trump Administration is clear and has caused the incoming Biden Administration to face gigantic obstacles. Kemp’s sinking legacy will become firmer in the coming year.
Jack Bernard, the first director of health planning for Georgia, has been an executive with several national health care firms. A Republican, he’s a former chairman of the Jasper County Commission.
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